Rod-joint.



0. w. COOPER.

ROD JOINT. APPLICATION m Mum-1916.

1,209,125. Patented Dec. 19,1916.

To all whom it may concern:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID W. COOPER, 0F RUSTON, LOUISIANA,

ROD-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Pa n ed Dec-1. 191

Application filed June 10, 1916. Serial N0.-103,010.

. In the drilling of oil wells, heretofore, de-

7 been experienced in extracting that lays and expense have resulted-from the loss of the tool head-or bit, these parts becoming disconnected from the upper drill rod member and falling to the bottom .ofsthc well being drilled. In such casesthe drill bit has been lost or at least costly delay has member from thebottom' of the well.

One object of theinvention is to provide a socket joint so constructed that the parts connecting the drill bit to the upper connecting rod are effectively prevented from becoming unfastened and disconnected.

Another object of the invention; is to pro.-' vide animpr-oved combined device foractuating the parts to be fastenedtogether and retaining these parts in the connected positio'n.

A further-object of the invention is to provide a locking memberv to retain the actuating device or key in'position and the combined device to operatethe locking member.

The invention consists further in the novel construction and arrangement of parts together with their operation and will be more fully described and'set forth in the following specification and claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 representsan elevation showing a drill bit attached to the lower end of a drill rod, the spring lock member being the only part of'the lock device visible from the exterior. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged section through the connection oint lllustrating the actuating member within the drill 'rod'and the spring means for retaining this member in position, the central plunger being drawn down to spread the expansible members within the socket flaring out within the upper end of the receiving member. Fig. 3rillustrates the. lower member being an enlarged front elevation, showing the slottedopening, the threaded cone and the expanding jaws atthe upperjend: Fig, 4 illustrates the devicefori removing and in-. serting the spring retaining member used over saidslot. Fig. 5represents this device as applied to the spring member, a screw member being substituted for. the cam lever.

Like numerals referto like parts.

i 1 represents the drillbit as connectedto the lower end'of a'drill rod. 2 is the upper end of the bit'member and is illustratedherein-as beingprovided with the expanding jaws and, centrally. located plunger to operate thesame, whichv features will be mentioned further. 3 represents the metal: drill rod at th lower end of which is the enlargedportion V 4: provided with the. receiving socket 5. The lower endof this socket is tapered and screw threaded and-converges for a portion of the way. toward the innerwend of' the has its side walls flared to receive the, .expanding jaws of-thenlowcr member. The part 2 is provided with the threaded cone 6 and hasat itssmaller endv the members 7 arranged to expand within the flared socket of the member. 4:. to hold the .parts together. The central plunger Sis provided within the member 2 and has at its upper endthe cone shaped portion9 arranged to spread the members 7 when the plunger is drawn down between them. Anactuatingkey 10 is designed to slide through thealined openings 11 in the member 2 and 12 in the plunger S, the peculiar wedge shape of the part 10 drawing down the plunger 8 and spreading the parts7. The opening 12 inthe plunger must be'so arranged that the part 10 has a wedging effect on the lower edge of the slot or opening-to co-act therewith to drawn the plunger 8' down. I V

Immedi tely adjacent theopening lliand arranged to extend across, the same, parallel thereto, is a-flat-spring member 13 adapted to be fastened at eitherend by engagement socket, but the extreme end of the socket with the counter-sunk slots '14: and retain the keymember 10- within'the openings 11 and 12 and hence within the diameter of the drill rod connection. The member 13 is preferably arrangedto lie below the exterior surface of the member 2 in a groove or chancross channel 21 and are slipped beneath the sides of the spring, and the cam member 20 is operated to liftthe jaws 19 and bow the spring. As this movement advances the ends of the spring are withdrawn from the slots li and the spring is brought into a position to be withdrawn from the member 2. It will be obvious that the insertion of the spring 13 maybe accomplished by similar use of the device 16, the bowing of the spring and the lengthening thereof into the slots 14.

I-Ieretofore, well drilling apparatus has been. subject to a most serious fault, namely the constantly recurring loss of the drill rod bits from the drill rods. This trouble has been usually traced to the type of connection used in fastening the drill rod bit to the upper member. Screw threaded connections of small pitchhave constantly had the tendency to unscrew during the action of the well drilling apparatus. Various types of interlocking connections have been tried and experimented with and some form of expansible connections have been used. but in all of these experience has proven that once the interlocking parts or the member expanding spreading jaws becomes loose, the drill rod bit has gradually become further loosened from the upper driving member and finally separated therefrom.

In the present invention these faults are not present, the parts being so constructed and designed that their cooperation removes the usual difliculties and trouble common to this type of apparatus. The parts 2 and i with their tapered ends are screw threaded together and the end of the member 2 is expanded to fill the flaring socket within the upper receiving member. The plunger 8 with the cone end 9 spreads the end of the part 2, the plunger .8 being drawn downwardly'within the member 2 by the actuating key 10 which is wedge shaped to make this action ossible. It will be observed here that should the parts 2 and 4 tend to rotate or Lmscrew from one another this movement will apply pressure tothe'expansible ends 7 fastened to the member 2. Hence, since the cone 9 and plunger 8 are firmly held by the wedge shaped actuating key 10, the movement just mentioned serves only to make the connection more tight. In contrast 'to the former structures used this invention provides for a positive connection whereas older forms of connections have had the fault of continuing to loosen if the movement once started and the parts started to unscrew.

The present invention makes use of the novel spring member 13 to retain the actuating key 10 in position. This member 13 co-acts with the device 16 for its insertion and removal from the part 2; As has'been explained it will be obvious that the wearand tear of i the drilling operation will not interfere with a new type of drill rod connection in which loss of parts and the lossof the drill bits is reducedto a minimum. Itwill be further understood that the invention described herein is not limited'to use inwell drilling machinery but may be applied successfully to any apparatus in which a positive type of connection is desired; Changes in the structure, relative location of parts, material and operation may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

What I claim is: c

1. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket flaring inwardly at its inner portion, a second memher to engage the socket of said first member having an expansible end to engage the inwardly flaring portion of said socket and a transverse opening therein, expanding means for spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided with a transverse opening arranged to register with said first mentioned transverse opening, and unitary means for actuating said plunger arranged to'pass through both I of said transverse openings and prevent relative movement of the parts in which they are formed.

2. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket flaring inwardly at itsinner, portion, a second member to engage the socket of said first member having an expansible end to engagethe inwardly flaring portion of said socket, one of said members being provided with a transverse f'op'ening. therein, expanding means for, spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided W1th a transverse slot arranged to register with said first mentioned transverse opening, and unitary actuating means for operating said plunger arranged to pass through said transverse opening and said transverse slot and prevent relative move ment of the parts in which they are formed.

3. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket flaring'inwardly at its inner portion, a second member to engage the socket of said first member having an expansible end to engage the inwardly flaring portion of said socket, a centrally located plunger for expanding said end, and unitary means for actuating said plunger and prevent relative movement between said plunger and said first and second members.

4. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket tapering inwardly at its outer portion and flaring inwardly at its inner portion, a second member to engage said socket tapered outwardly at its inner'portion and provided with an expansible end to engage the inwardly flaring portion of said socket, one of said members being provided with a transverse opening therein, expanding means for spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided with a transverse opening arranged to register with said first mentioned transverseopening, and unitary actuating means for operating said plunger arranged to pass through both of said transverse openings and prevent relative movement of the parts in which they are formed.

5. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket tapering inwardly at its outer portion and screw threaded thereat and flaring inwardly at its inner portion, a second member to engage said socket tapering outwardly at its inner portion and screw threaded thereat and provided with an expansible end to engage the inwardly flaring portion of said socket, one of said members being provided with a transverse opening therein, means for spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided with a transverse opening arranged to register with said first mentioned transverse opening, and unitary actuating. means for operating said plunger arranged to pass through both of said transverse openings expanding and prevent relative movement of the parts in which they are formed.

6. In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket flaring inwardly at its inner portion, a second member to engage the socket of said first mem ber having an expansible end to engagethe inwardly flaring portion of said socket, one of said members being provided with a transverse opening therein, expanding means for spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided with a transverse opening arranged to register with said first mentioned transverse opening, unitary actuating meansfor operating said plunger arranged to pass through both of said transverse openings and prevent relative movement of the parts in which they are formed, and means for locking said unitary actuating means in position within said openings.

7 In a joint fastening, the combination of a first member having a socket flaring in-' wardly at its inner portion, a second member to engage the socket of said first member having an expansible end to engage the inwardly flaring portion of said socket, one of said members being provided with a transverse opening therein, expanding means for spreading said expansible end comprising a centrally located plunger provided with a transverse opening arranged to register with said first mentioned transverse opening, unitary actuating means for operating said plunger arranged to pass through both of said transverse openings and prevent relative movement of the parts in which they are formed, and means for locking said unitary actuating means in position comprising a latch member mounted on the member provided with the transverse opening to extend across said opening and retain said unitary actuating means in position within said openings.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID W. COOPER.

Witnesses:

ISAAC LANDERS, W. G. HANCOCK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, 15 7 addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

